Columnist: Teresa Hill

Acupuncture for your brain

By Teresa Hill

For the Journal-Advocate

Posted:
09/16/2013 11:08:38 AM MDT

Teresa Hill For the Journal-Advocate

Don't you wish you could go to a doctor and be guaranteed that the treatment would work? Don't you also wish that you could be assured that you could do everything to improve the outcome of that treatment? Well, have I got news for you! I want to give you some important information to help you improve your chances of having a successful outcome when you do go to your doctor. Hopefully, all of you can understand the importance of a healthy brain. If you can't understand this... you need help with your brain!!

Stimulating the brain is very important. Alternative medicine such as acupuncture, chiropractic, massage therapy, and aromatherapy have strong influences on stimulating the brain.

You will be happy to know that acupuncture has been around for more than 5,000 years and research supports the fact that it should be used to stimulate the immune system. Let me give you the fact... only the facts... Research studies were conducted utilizing functional MRI to identify changes in the brain that may be responsible for the analgesic impact of acupuncture. the subjects in this study were stimulated with acupuncture on L14 in regulating cerebral or brain activities could be displayed and recorded through blood-oxygen dependent FMRI. Acupuncture also was shown to change the autonomic function measured by the heart rate and respiratory centers in the brain stem. Acupuncture was also shown to improve stoke patients and improve their spasticity and ranges of motion.

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Another research study showed that an adjustment or manipulation to the spine could evoke cortical-somatosensory processing and sensory and motor integration. What that means its good for the functioning of the brain! Let me give a shout out for our massage therapist... Research has also shown that there was an average increase of 28 percent for serotonin and an average increase of 31 percent in dopamine. Serotonin and dopamine are neurotransmitters found in the brain and in other parts of the body. Massage therapy also was shown to help decrease cortisol (stress hormone). The act of actually touching and holding has been found to lower cortisol and help modulate dopamine and serotonin.

Imagine a 30 year old who eats plenty of essential fatty acids, nuts, seeds, avocados and good source of protein versus a 30-year-old drop out who eats fast foods, drinks pop and beer and rarely consumes essential fatty acids... who do you think has the greatest potential for a successful outcome utilizing alternative treatments? We must accept the fact that a healthy brain along with a nutritious diet can have profound results on your healthcare expectations.

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